# Yaaarghh! It's pronounced SUB-SID-I-ARY, goddammit!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284 "2011-01-20T03:44:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/21 "2011-01-20T14:49:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I spent 20+ years in the military. In all that time I never heard a single military training instructor say anything but “incenerary” instead of “incendiary”. Nearly drove me mad, it did. I heard a retired military expert on the news the other day refer to the “1st Calvary Division”. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/22 "2011-01-20T14:55:00Z")
I had a science teacher who was convinced that “robarts” were going to take over the world. He also had trouble with “the instresting thing about thinking about emzymes”… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/23 "2011-01-20T14:55:32Z")
My boss says “pacifically” all the time. He even read it off a presentation yesterday that said “specifically” right there on the screen. He’s not the only one in the company, either. =3 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/24 "2011-01-20T15:00:41Z")
> [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](#): > > But she is incapable of pronouncing the word “subsidiary” - instead, she pronounces it “subsidi **r** ary”. Maybe she’s stealing the “r” from another word. Has she ever mentioned her periphial vision? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/25 "2011-01-20T15:10:16Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > My boss says “pacifically” all the time. What do you want him to say? Atlantically? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/26 "2011-01-20T15:14:57Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I heard a retired military expert on the news the other day refer to the “1st Calvary Division”. I was in line at a Marine chow hall. Near the end of the line, a young Marine stood with a soup ladle. “What’s the soup today, Marine?” I asked. “Mine strone” says he. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/27 "2011-01-20T15:25:42Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > What do you want him to say? Atlantically? “Pacific” may refer to the ocean, but it also may refer to simply being peaceful; that was the original meaning of the word, and is in fact why the ocean was named as such. An antonym of “pacifically” might be “violently.” ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/28 "2011-01-20T15:40:00Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > That’s going a long way for a joke. Butt hiss hart was rite their! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/29 "2011-01-20T15:42:58Z")
I’m am super sensitive to (what I consider) mispronunciations but it’s been drilled into me on this very board that there are regionalisms, and “no such thing as wrong pronunciation” , blah blah blah, so I, like the poster upthread, try to let it slide as much as I can. But I think the real pisser in the OP is that it’s almost an industry term at his company and it does indeed seem moronic that someone, simply by virtue of hearing it all the live long day, could still mispronounce it. I’ve mentioned my borderline retarded co-worker (not really; she’s just form Philly:p ) and even her stupidity I’ve come to excuse as “regionalisms”. But, thre are some words and names that are not open to interpretation. It’s “Emeril”, not “Emerald” and “Conde Nast”, not “Connie Nash” you stupid twat. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/30 "2011-01-20T16:26:16Z")
> [@Double\_Foolscap](#): > > Luckily we moved on later to the merits of Wii vs PS3. So, which one won out: the Why-eye or the Piss-three? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/31 "2011-01-20T16:32:05Z")
> [@DragonAsh](#): > > Arrgggh - I absolutely hate it when people throw in random 'r’s. _Idear_. _Warshington_. It’s definitely not a British thing; I’ve heard it from people that the closest they got to Britain was watching old Benny Hill re-runs… Sounds like my dad, on both counts. He’s originally from southeastern Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/32 "2011-01-20T16:43:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I spent 20+ years in the military. In all that time I never heard a single military training instructor say anything but “incenerary” instead of “incendiary”. Nearly drove me mad, it did. Heh. I worked on military manuals for a defense contractor. We published two separate versions because of ONE word: the Navy and Air Force were fine using the term “align,” as in the phrase, “align the arrow on right edge of this chart with the arrow on the left edge of the following chart,” but the Army _insisted_ on spelling the word “ **aline**.” Even though THAT term is both 1) wrong and 2) easily mispronounced itself (a-leen?), and thus likely to throw off both educated _and_ ignorant users. I crankily pointed out that the Army has no trouble expecting _these same people_ to memorize hundreds of complex, almost arbitrary abbreviations, and suggested they just tell people ALIGN is an abbreviation (“Never mind WHY it’s spelled that way, maggot!”), but apparently it was _in the contract_ that we spell it that way, so my complaint was ignored. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/33 "2011-01-20T17:07:12Z")
My division is a subsidiary of our parent company. A guy in our division has a great DJ-type voice and records the outgoing messages for our voicemail. And for years now, callers have been greeted by “Thank you for calling XYZ Company, a \*\*subsiderary \*\*of ABC Corporation”. Grrrrrrrrrrr. But I try to ignore all mispronounciations like that, so I don’t stab my coworkers who say “aks”. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/34 "2011-01-20T17:10:04Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Those of us whose languages measure meter in syllables pronounce it sub-si-dia-ry. Is that ok? No extra letters! That looks like a British pronunciation—like how Brits pronounce “secretary” or “ordinary” with three syllables but Americans pronounce them with four. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/35 "2011-01-20T17:34:27Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > So, which one won out: the Why-eye or the Piss-three? It’s wih-ih, you drooling Philistine. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/36 "2011-01-20T18:17:20Z")
This kind of thing can really get under my skin, exspecially when you have athaletes who suddenly decide to become realators. Ah, what can you do? It’s a doggie dog world. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/37 "2011-01-20T19:28:08Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > This kind of thing can really get under my skin, exspecially when you have athaletes who suddenly decide to become realators. Ah, what can you do? It’s a doggie dog world. Yeah, but does it have french benefits? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/38 "2011-01-21T00:33:34Z")
I would ask if you’ve seriously heard someone say that, but I think I know what the answer is. ---
**Author:** ![Napkin\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8dc957/32.png) [@Napkin\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napkin_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/39 "2011-01-21T09:37:21Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > This kind of thing can really get under my skin, exspecially when you have athaletes who suddenly decide to become realators. Ah, what can you do? It’s a doggie dog world. After they’ve been athaletes they may also choose to become mothers, and during labor the cervix can either dialate or even sometimes dilatate. (I heard both of those from different medical professionals). ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284/40 "2011-01-21T13:49:35Z")
Just yesterday I sat through a meeting featuring at least three uses of the word “satistics.” Anybody seen a missing _t_ lying around anywhere? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yaaarghh-its-pronounced-sub-sid-i-ary-goddammit/568284.md?page=3)